Method for cleaning and sterilizing dental and medical instruments

ABSTRACT

An improved method for cleaning and sterilizing medical and dental instruments ( 16 ) employs the use of a banding device ( 10 ) to segregate and hold together medical or dental instruments ( 16 ) after use in a particular procedure. The banded instruments ( 16 ) are then cleaned and sterilized. This method essentially eliminates the time and effort formerly required when unsegregated instruments were mixed with other instruments for cleaning and sterilization and then stored according to the particular procedure for which they are intended and/or according to the intended particular user thereof.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/495,852 filed Feb. 1,2000 now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to methods for cleaning and sterilizingmedical and dental instruments.

In another respect the invention pertains to such methods employing abanding device to segregate and hold a collection of medical or dentalinstruments which are normally employed to effect a specific medical ordental procedure before, during and after the cleaning and sterilizationthereof.

In the preferred embodiment the invention concerns methods of cleaningand sterilization of medical and dental instruments, employing anelastomeric banding device fabricated from a material that withstandsthe chemical and temperature conditions of cleaning and sterilization,to hold the medical or dental instruments together before, during andafter the cleaning and sterilization processes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of chair-side dentistry and in some medical procedures,each time a procedure on a patient is completed, a number of similarmedical or dental instruments are left in a contaminated state. It hasbeen the practice for many years to accumulate these instruments andperiodically clean and sterilize a batch of such instruments. In dentaloffices in which there are several dentists, dental assistants and/orhygienists working, frequently each individual has his or herinstruments which he or she prefers using. For reasons of economy, largenumbers of such instruments are usually mixed together for periodiccycling through the cleaning and sterilizing processes.

After completion of such cycling, these large batches of instrumentsmust be sorted in order to collect those instruments used in aparticular procedure and in order to return them to the appropriatedentist, dental assistant or hygienist. This necessitates theexpenditure of time and effort by medical or dental office personnel toperform the sorting. One procedure now used to facilitate this sortingis for each dentist or hygienist to apply a different colored band toeach instrument to indicate to whom the instrument belongs. Thesecolored bands are much easier to see than are markings made to thehandles of instruments, but sorting by color is still necessary and timeconsuming.

The present invention provides a convenient cleaning and sterilizationmethod that allows each group of instruments to be identified andsegregated as to the particular procedure for which they are intendedand even as to the person to whom they belong, so that the time andeffort involved in sorting each instrument by hand is eliminated. Oncecollected and segregated, the method of the invention also minimizeshandling of the instruments, which reduces the potential for bodilyinjury to the medical or dental support personnel, damage to theinstruments and contamination.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the present invention provides improvements in the priormethods for cleaning and sterilizing medical and dental instruments,which prior method includes the steps of collecting such instrumentsused in a plurality of medical or dental procedures after use thereof insuch plurality of procedures, cleaning such collected instruments,sterilizing such cleaned instruments, segregating and sorting suchsterilized instruments into groups according to the particular surgicalor medical procedure for which they are intended. Our improved methodcomprises the steps in sequence of (a) initially banding each group ofsuch instruments together after use thereof in a particular medical ordental procedure, such that each such banded group includes only theinstruments used for that particular procedure; (b) collecting aplurality of such banded groups of instruments; (c) cleaning andsterilizing such plurality of banded groups of instruments; and (d)storing such cleaned, sterilized banded groups until the next usethereof.

In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, our methodcontemplates that the bands used to hold the instruments banded in step(a) are fabricated from a material that withstands the chemical andtemperature conditions of the cleaning and sterilizing steps.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the bands employedare coded visually, by color or other markings, to facilitateidentifying a group of instruments intended for use in a particularmedical or dental procedure and/or which are intended for use by aparticular clinician.

In a still further preferred embodiment, the material from which thebands are fabricated is an elastomeric material capable stretching of atleast 100% and capable of withstanding temperatures in the range 212-450degrees Fahrenheit.

In a particular preferred embodiment, the bands comprise a pair ofparallel bands, a first element connecting one end of the pair ofparallel bands and a second element connecting the other ends of thepair of parallel bands and each of the first and second elements have ashape and size such that one element can be inserted between the pair ofbands to hold a plurality of instruments.

In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, we use a bandcomprising a pair of parallel elastomeric bands having balls or enlargedelements formed at each end thereof. The device is wrapped around agroup of instruments after use thereof in a particular procedure andbefore these instruments are to be cleaned and sterilized. One ball isinserted through the pair of bands adjacent the other ball to lock thedevice about the instruments. Preferrably, the balls at the ends of thepair of bands are integrally molded therewith. However, separate ballsor enlarge elements may be attached to the bands if desired. Thematerial of the device is selected to provide an elongation or stretchin the range of 100% to 700%. This allows the device to be adequatelystretched to surround the proper quantity of instruments. Theelastomeric material selected must be capable of withstanding repeatedexposure to common disinfectant compounds and the high temperatures ofsteam sterilization (e.g., autoclaving) or dry heat sterilization withinthe range of 212-450 degrees Fahrenheit. Preferably, a silicone compoundmaterial such as Dow Corning XL2488 or equivalent can be used.

The devices can be visually coded, e.g., by a plurality of colors and/orpatterns, to allow easy identification of the owner of the instrumentsand/or the intended use of that particular group of instruments. Thesemarkings are distinctive enough to allow each clinician to quicklygather his or her instruments together, band them and send them throughcommon office cleaning and sterilization processes while intermixed withother batches of instruments. As a result, the effort of segregating andsorting the instruments into groups intended for use in a particularmedical or dental procedure and/or for use by a particular clinician isessentially eliminated. Also, handling is reduced thereby minimizingpotential for bodily injury, damage to instruments and contamination.Devices can also be made with bands of different lengths and sizes toaccommodate larger or smaller groups of instruments. These could bemarked with letters or numbers to designate their sizes. Alternatively,the parallel bands could have interconnecting elements, similar to therungs of a ladder, for accommodating batches of instruments of differentsizes.

The balls or other enlarged elements formed at each end of the deviceare sized to create a proper locking by putting the ball through theopening between the two parallel bands. The bands are designed of such ashape and size to ensure adequate strength and to provide proper tensionto keep the instruments contained during cleaning, sterilization andstorage.

The aforementioned advantages of the present invention, as well asadditional advantages thereof, will be more fully understood hereinafteras a result of a detailed description of the preferred embodiment whentaken in conjunction with the following drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an elastomeric banding device which isused in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the elastomeric banding device of FIG. 1wrapped around and holding a plurality of dental instruments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 depicts an elastomeric banding device generally designated as 10.The device 10 has a first and second band 11 and 12. One end of eachband 11 and 12 is integrally molded or otherwise connected to a ball orenlarged element 13 at each end thereof. Each ball 13 is properly sizedsuch that it can be inserted into the opening 14 formed by the junctionof the two ends of the bands 11 and 12 with one of the balls 13. Thedevice 10 is fabricated from an elastomeric material which allows thebands 11 and 12 to adequately stretch to be able to be wrapped around aplurality of dental instruments 16 as seen in FIG. 2. The elastomericmaterial must be capable of withstanding steam or dry heat sterilizationtemperatures in the range of 212 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Preferably,the elastomeric material can stretch from 100% to 700%. Preferably, theelastomeric material is silicone, since silicone is not affected by therepeated processes of disinfecting and sterilization over periods oftime.

The elastomeric device 10 is molded in a plurality of colors and/orpatterns so that each doctor, dentist or hygienist in an office withcommon cleaning and sterilization equipment will have visuallydistinguishable banding devices. Thus, each clinician's (or clinician'sassistant) of each group of instruments can wrap his or her batch ofinstruments together and put them through the cleaning and sterilizationcycle and have them returned without any necessity for individualsorting of the instruments to segregate instruments owned or used byother clinicians and/or to segregate instruments used for other specificprocedures.

While the balls or enlarged elements are shown in the Figures as beingspherical, they may have other shapes, such as a rod, so long as theshape is such that it can be inserted between the bands and be capturedor locked in the junction between the ends of the bands and the enlargedelement to hold the batch of instruments during sterilization.Alternatively, the bands may be interconnected by rungs or cross-membersnot shown, which would accommodate different sized batches ofinstruments, and the ball would be captured or locked between the bandsand the cross-member or rung.

In use, a batch of instruments to be sterilized is held in one hand. Theelastomeric banding device 10 is wrapped around the instruments. Oneelement 13 is inserted through the junction of the bands 11 and 12 andthe other element 13 to hold the batch of instruments together. Aftersterilization, the sterilized instruments may be returned to the userthereof. Different color or patterned banding devices 10 may be used fordifferent dentists or hygienists in one office. Alternatively, lettersor numbers on the banding devices could be utilized for identificationpurposes.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to a specificembodiment, many modifications and variations therein will readily occurto those skilled in the art. The drawings are intended only asillustrative and are not intended as limitations on the scope of theinvention, which is defined only by the following claims.

1. In a method for cleaning and sterilizing medical and dentalinstruments, which method includes the steps of collecting suchinstruments used in a plurality of medical or dental procedures afteruse thereof in such plurality of procedures, cleaning such collectedinstruments, sterilizing such cleaned instruments, and segregating andsorting such sterilized instruments into groups according to theparticular surgical or medical procedure for which they are intended,and storing such groups of sterilized instruments until the next usethereof the improved method comprising the steps in sequence of (a)initially banding each group of such instruments together after usethereof in a particular medical or dental procedure, such that each suchbanded group includes only the instruments used for that particularprocedure; (b) collecting a plurality of such banded groups ofinstruments; (c) cleaning and sterilizing such plurality of bandedgroups of instruments; and (d) storing such cleaned, sterilized bandedgroups until the next use thereof.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein thematerial from which the bands fabricated is selected to withstand thechemical and temperature conditions of said cleaning and sterilizingstep.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the bands are color coded.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the bands are fabricated from an elastomericmaterial capable of stretching at least 100% and capable of withstandingtemperatures in the range 212-450 degrees Fahrenheit, and said bandscomprise: a pair of parallel bands; a first element connected to one endof said pair of parallel bands; and a second element connected to theother ends of said pair of parallel bands; each of said first and secondelements having a shape and size such that one element can be insertedbetween the pair of bands to hold a plurality of instruments togetherduring cleaning and sterilization steps.